Michael Douglas Cast as Ant-Man!

Fresh from last night’s Golden Globe win for his performance in Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, Michael Douglas has joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man in the role of Hank Pym! Douglas will star opposite Paul Rudd (now confirmed to be playing Scott Lang) in the Edgar Wright film, set for release on July 31, 2015.

“With Hank Pym’s rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn’t be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life.”

Set to begin production shortly in Georgia, Ant-Man will be directed by Wright, who co-wrote the script with Joe Cornish (Attack the Block).

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang,” Wright told SuperHeroHype some years ago in an interview that he confirmed this morning via Twitter is still accurate. “So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

The film, which is supposed to launch “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will follow Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s May 1, 2015 release.